Woven rattan fabric



Nov- 6, 196 DANNY HO FONG WOVEN RATTAN FABRIC 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed001;. 12, 1961 FIG. l.

m m P INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Nov. 6, 1962 DANNY HO FONG 3,062,244

WOVEN RATTAN FABRIC Filed Oct. 12, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3. FIG. 5

DANNY HO FONG:

ATTORJVEY iiite tates a This invention relates to the art of makingrattan or similar fabric used in the manufacture of furniture.

Rattan strands used in the manufacture of furniture are usually ofrandom or unequal length. Even if they should be prepared to be of thesame length, the ends would not terminate at the same point in thefurniture body because the design of the seat, back or arms may Vary insize. Heretofore, it has been customary to anchor the free end of astrand, for example, a weft strand, to a support by fining, knotting,tying, or the like. In some cases where the free end of the strandterminates near a part of the frame, it has also been customary tosecure the free end with a nail or similar fastening. In the past,regardless of how the free ends of the warp are secured, even whenglued, they tend to come loose after a period of time and not onlyweaken the entire piece of furniture, but because they protrude beyondthe normal surface of the chair, they constitute a hazard to the bodyand clothing of the user.

As its primary object, the present invention provides a solution to theproblem heretofore encountered, by inserting or tucking the free end ofa weft strand behind one or more alternate adjacent parallel weftstrands and parallel to an available warp strand. In other words, thefree end or terminal portion of a given weft strand will be threadedinto an interlocked position adjacent a warp strand.

A further object of the invention is to provide the terminal portion ofthe weft strand with a notch inwardly of its end to facilitate bendingthe end at right angles to the main axis of the strand.

With the above and other objects in view which will more readily appearas the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consistsin the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts,hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic view of a Woven fabric illustrating theterminal portions of certain weft strands all turned or disposed in thesame direction at opposite sides of a warp strand.

FIGURE 1a is a detail view of a strand notched to facilitate bending.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a piece of rattan furnitureillustrating the manner of weaving and disposing the terminal portionsof the strands, as shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the terminal portions of a givenstrand all turned in the same direction, but in a plane 180 from thatshown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged detail perspective view of a portion of wovenfabric following the pattern of FIG- URE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a further diagramamtic view showing the terminal portions ofadjacent selected strands disposed in opposite directions as well as onopposite sides of the anchoring strands.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged detail perspective view of the fabric shown inFIGURE 5.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several figures of the drawings.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, it will be observed that the Weft strandsare all designated generally as A and the 3,952,244 Patented Nov. 6,1962 warp strands are designated as B. It will, of course, be understoodthat the strands A and B are moistened or otherwise prepared in thecustomary manner to render them pliable and manipnlatable to perform theweaving operation.

Assuming that the warp strands B are paired, as shown in various figuresof the drawings, the weft strands A when incorporated in the fabric havethe end portions trimmed or cut to provide an anchoring portion ofsuitable length and designated generally as C. To facilitate the bendingof the strands, it is preferable to notch the same as inicated at D inFIGURE 1a. This notching is preferably done by a knife in the hand ofthe weaver; but, if the end of the strand is sufficiently pliable, itneed not be notched.

As the weaving operation proceeds, the strands of Varying length areused, and when the free or threading end reaches the most appropriatepoint to be anchored, the end C is bent at right angles and tuckedbehind or beneath alternate right angularly disposed weft strands of thefabric so as to be permanently imbedded within the gen eral plane of thefabric with the tips of such strands protected entirely from anyprojection from the face of the fabric itself.

The location of the notch D when used determines the length of theholding or locking section C. This notch may be made by hand just priorto the time when the terminal portion is to be prepared for insertioninto its shielded position.

As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the terminal portions C are intended toabut or engage the right angularly disposed warp strands B and to liebeneath alternate adjacent weft strands A, all of the ends beingdisposed in the same direction, that is, toward the bottom, of FIGURE 1.

FIGURES 3 and 4 illustrate the ends C all disposed in the same upperdirection with respect to the top portion of FIGURE 3. While in thisarrangement, the ends are disposed oppositely to that shown in FIGURE 1,nevertheless, the locking effect will be the same. Also, it will be seenfrom FIGURES 3 and 4 that the length of the locking portion C may begreater than that shown in FIG- URES 1 and 2.

It will now be seen that in FIGURES 1-4, the locking ends C are disposedin tandem at opposite sides of the warp members B.

In FIGURES 5 and 6, the terminal portions C are dis posed in oppositedirections to each other, but are still confined to the same generalplane of the fabric.

By following the disclosure herein, the disposition of the terminal endsof strands is taken care of in a facile and practical manner at the timeof manufacture, and when the fabric becomes set in its finished form,all of the free ends of the weft strands will be completely housed orshielded behind one or more adjacent weft strands.

I claim:

1. Rattan or like fabric for use in the manufacture of furniture,comprising warp strands, and weft strands inter-woven with said warpstrands, the said weft strands having their free end portions bent at anangle to their longitudinal axis and parallel to an adjacent warpstrand, the bent free end portions of said weft strands disposed behindand concealed by alternate adjacent weft strands.

2. Rattan or like fabric according to claim 1, wherein, the end portionsof the weft strands are notched inwardly of their terminal edge toprovide a locking leg.

3. Rattan or like fabric according to claim 1, wherein, the adjacentfree end portions of the Weft strands are disposed in the samedirection.

4. Rattan or like fabric according to claim 1, wherein,

3 4 the adjacent free end portions of the weft strands are ReferencesCited in the file of this patent alternately disposed in oppositedirections. UNITED STATES PATENTS 5. A method of making woven rattanfurniture including warp and weft strands which consists in, threading1,707,688 Siebert P 21 1928 the Weft strands about the warp strands,bending the free 5 1,722,264 Bartow July 1929 end of a weft strand atright angles to the body of said FOREIGN PATENTS strand and theninsertin said free end beneath one or a 150,536 Great Britain Sept. 9,1920 more ad acent Weft strands at the location of a warp strand 263,661I t y Mar. 26, 1929 to hold it permanently in the plane of the said warpstrand.

